Holy Eagle v. Towle
Holy Eagle v. Towle
Opinion of the Court
This is an action by a minority number of one hundred twenty-eight owners of one hundred eighty six undivided heirship interests in original trust patent Indian allotted lands, to permanently enjoin the defendant from leasing or permitting Range Unit 21 in the Pine Ridge Reservation, Pine Ridge, South Dakota, to Livermont Brothers, of Vetal, South Dakota, until he shall have complied with all of the statutes, rules and regulations of the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs and shall have procured valid authority from all of the heirs or devisees to permit or lease that unit.
The defendant moved to dismiss at the end of the trial on the ground that all of the other interest owners of the unit, the Secretary of the Interior and the Livermont Brothers were indispensable parties, to which the defendant in his argument on the merits of the case adds the United States.
There are no allegations in the complaint relating to jurisdiction which follow Form 2, F.R.Civ.P., nor others which specifically points to a federal statute giving rise to a federal question and jurisdiction. There is, however, in all of the allegations a permissible inference, that the complained of violation by the defendant of 25 C.F.R. 151.10(d) under 25 U.S.C.A. § 466, poses a federal question which confers jurisdiction, with like inference suggested in the alleged unconstitutionality of 25 U.S.C.A. § 380. Schwarz v. United States, 4 Cir., 191 F.2d 618 (1951), Gerard v. Mercer, D.C. Mont., 62 F.Supp. 28 (1945). See also Barron and Holtzoff, Federal Practice and Procedure, Vol. 1A, Sec. 254 and Vol. 5, Sec. 3017.
With that background, it is to be noted that the act sought to be enjoined, i. e., the permitting for grazing use of Range Unit 21, was carried into effect by the defendant on or about the time this action was commenced,
This action, in accordance with this decision which constitutes the court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law, will be dismissed on its merits, and Judgment to that effect will be prepared by counsel for the defendant and forwarded to the court for approval and entry.
. The complaint was verified on December 2, 1961, and filed on the 11th of the same month.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- James HOLY EAGLE v. L. P. TOWLE, As Superintendent of the Pine Ridge Indian Agency, Pine Ridge, South Dakota
- Status
- Published